


Jumbled

by iwillgodownwithbuddie (rebeldawgspirategirl)



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Dyslexia, Established Relationship, Fluff, Friendship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-24
Updated: 2020-02-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:35:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22872583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebeldawgspirategirl/pseuds/iwillgodownwithbuddie
Summary: Everyone in the LAFD has been given a new manual on updated medical information.  They have a month to read it before they are quizzed on the new info.  While everyone else gets through the new information in a matter of days, it's a different story for Buck.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 520





	Jumbled

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt by comablog2 on Tumblr:  
> “Buck is very smart but is dyslexic and had trouble reading the team doesn’t know and tease him at first, but when they find out, they’re supportive an dhelp him read whatever he needs.”

Buck groaned as he looked up from his book. He rubbed his eyes, dog-earred the page, and closed the book. 

“You only on chapter 2?” Chim asked as he walked towards Buck. “We had those issued out like a week ago.”

“Reading isn't really my thing,” Buck muttered. 

“Good luck getting that finished then in the timeframe the chief gave all of us,” Chim laughed as he walked away.

Buck wasn’t having a problem absorbing the new information that all firefighters in Los Angeles were being required to read within the month. He was smart. He absorbed new information quickly. He could memorize pictures of tools within minutes. With the new medical manual, he had already gone through all of the diagrams and memorized them. He still had to read the chapters, just in case there was additional information within the words. This was the hard part. It was a secret Buck kept to himself, only having told people who absolutely needed to know. Buck being dyslexic was something that didn’t come up in everyday conversation.

A few days later, Buck was halfway through the 3rd chapter when he had to stop once again. The letters on the page were starting to give him a headache. He dog-earred the page once again and slammed the book down.

“What did that book ever do to you?” Hen laughed as she walked past him. 

“It’s just giving me a headache,” Buck groaned, crossing his arms and putting his head down on the table. 

“It’s not that bad,” Hen said. “It’s a little repetitive, but not so bad that it’s headache inducing.”

“Easy for you to say,” Buck muttered once Hen was out of an earshot.

Before the crew knew it, it was just three days before the chief was quizzing them on the medical manual and Buck was only three quarters of the way done with the book. The rest of the team had been lightly teasing Buck on not being done with the manual, but Eddie was starting to get concerned. The manual, while boring, hadn’t been a very hard book to read. He had finished it within a few days. He glanced over at Buck in their bedroom. Buck was frowning at the book.

“Buck? What's wrong?" Eddie asked, reaching out one hand to gently touch Buck's arm.

"It's this stupid thing," Buck sighed. "I'm not going to be able to finish it in time."

Eddie frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I read so damn slow. It takes me forever to read a paragraph. The stupid letters keep jumping around and getting messed up," Buck admitted.

It was like a lightbulb went off in Eddie's head. "You're dyslexic?"

Buck nodded. "Severely. I had the SAT read to me. That poor Proctor had to read that 4 hour test to me." Buck chuckled at the memory of that person sitting in front of him reading the SAT to him. "I had my written exam read to me, too, when I finished the academy."

"I never would have guessed."

"I don't tell people. I say I'm dyslexic and people just start assuming I'm dumb. I'm not. I graduated high school with a 4.0. I got into some of the top colleges in the country. Give me math, science, history, any subject and I got it. It's not even that I can't read, it's just really hard. Maddie only knows because she used to help me with my homework. The chief knows, too. He's quizzing me orally on Saturday."

Eddie nodded. "But how is that going to help if you can't get the book read to begin with? How'd you do it for the academy's written exam?"

Buck smiled. "I started reading the LAFD manual before even joining the academy."

“So what are you going to do about this?” Eddie asked, pointing to the book in Buck’s hands. 

Buck sighed. “I don’t know. I guess I’m just going to wing it?”

Eddie shook his head. “Uh no. Hand it here.”

Buck blinked at Eddie and handed over the book. “You aren’t reading it to me, babe.”

“Yes, I am. Makes for a perfect bedtime story,” Eddie responded, laughing. “It’s some of the most boring shit I’ve ever read. I am certain that it will put you to sleep in minutes.” With that, Eddie finished reading the current chapter for Buck before turning off their bedside lamps and drifting off to sleep. 

The next day, Eddie continued reading the book for Buck during any down time they had during the day. It didn’t take long before Hen and Chimney were walking up to the pair sitting on the sofa and asking about it.

“Wait,” Chimney started. “You’re still not done with that, and now Eddie’s reading it to you?”

Hen looked at Buck and Eddie while quietly putting the pieces together in her head like how frustrated Buck had been reading and how long it was taking him to read. “Chim, just be quiet before you say something you regret.”

“What could I say that I would regret about this?”

Hen simply rolled her eyes before sitting down on the arm of the sofa. “Buckaroo, why didn’t you just tell us you’re dyslexic?”

Buck looked at her with wide eyes. “I don’t tell anyone,” he whispered as he leaned closer into Eddie.

“Buck, I would never have judged you for that. I hope you know that.”

“I know,” Buck responded. “I’m just so used to other people assuming.”

“Assuming what? That you’re not smart? Because I know for a fact that you’re one of the smartest people I know,” Hen declared. “I would have read that for you as soon as we got them if I had known.”

“We all would have,” Chimney interrupted. “And I’m sorry if I’ve said anything insensitive about it.”

Hen reached over and took the book from Eddie. “Why don’t you take a break, Eddie?” she said. Then she began reading where Eddie had left off. 

For the rest of the day, the team took turns reading the remainder of the new medical manual to Buck. They even went through the first part of the book to answer any questions Buck had about the material he had already read. By the end of their shift, they finished the book with Buck confident enough about the material to take the quiz on Saturday which he aced.

**Author's Note:**

> Reblog on Tumblr: https://iwillgodownwithbuddie.tumblr.com/post/190992839503/jumbled


End file.
